The Draconic Code
by Asterope
Summary: Ginny Weasley's Assignment: locate the Draconic Code, an ancient scroll of bloodlines created by Salazar Slytherin himself. With Draco Malfoy as her partner, they must put aside differences in order to find the Code - without its magic killing them first.


So yes. Have been writing this fic on and off for the past few months, so putting things together for now. Have an official beta Jenni-us 3 but am always looking for more. So if you want to deal with the rantings of a sporadic writing... send me an email! :D Otherwise, go on.  
  
Don't own anything you recognize. Much thanks to inspiration from Stargate and Bridget Jones. And to the loverly characters of Draco and Ginny.  
  
The Draconic Code. Chapter One: The Timing  
  
"What do you mean, I'm not allowed in there?"  
  
"Well Miss, it means... that you're not allowed to be in here."  
  
"But I was sent an owl. Look!" Ginerva Weasley shoved the slip of parchment under the security wizard's nose, waving it around impatiently as she tapped her foot. "Well?"  
  
The Security Wizard peered over the parchment, his eyes widening at the scrawled signature of the Minister of Magic himself at the bottom. "I didn't know that Mr. Weasley gave you permission to this wing. By all means, go on."  
  
Virginia impatiently gathered her bag and proceeded through the corridor. At the age of 22, she was the first Auror - After the Boy Who Lived, of course - to complete Auror training in less than four years. Even though she failed miserably in fieldwork, her knowledge of the Ancients and logical deductions helped her to excel far beyond her peers. She turned the knob and heard a familiar voice.  
  
"... this is a dialect of Greek, what's it doing in the Babylonian stack..." A stout, balding man of around the age of 55 was pacing back and forth in a small, brightly lit study. Located on the far edge of the top- most level of the Ministry of Magic, the office devoted to the Study of Ancient Wizardry was often dubbed a lost art - however, the ancient artifacts locked away held secrets that the Ministry could not possibly fathom. Because lack of knowledge led to fear, few dared to attempt to unlock such enigmas.  
  
"Professor Orwell?" Ginny asked incredulously as she turned into a small study with a murky smell that reminded her of ancient Egyptian preparation rooms.  
  
"Ah, Ginerva, my dear! How pleased am I to see you." His chubby face that made him resemble a young schoolboy rather than a learned professor lit up at the sight of his old Ancient Wizarding Cultures student. He held his right hand up high, waiting in expectancy.  
  
"Um, hello Professor." She awkwardly stared at his outstretched hand.  
  
"It's a high five! It's what all the hip kids do nowadays, isn't it?" The professor smiled eagerly, his faced deflated, however, as he saw Ginny's confused face.  
  
"Oh well," he shrugged. "Anyway, how have you been, dear?"  
  
Ginny smiled, remembering how her old professor had always made a priority of knowing how she was doing over what grades she received in class – though her grades were of no concern to him, consistently excelling in the Professor's classes.  
  
"Oh, you know. I'm okay. Ron - my older brother, you remember him, right?" Professor Orwell nodded as he poured them a cup of tea. "He finally popped the question to his girlfriend, Hermione. Their wedding's going to be next spring."  
  
"Ah, I see. Well, sit down. You don't sound very happy about it."  
  
"I don't know if I am. All this talk about marriage has made it glaringly apparent that I'm still the only spinster in the family -"  
  
"You're not a spinster, Ginny," Professor Orwell said with a frown. Ginny sighed, stirring her tea.  
  
" Of course I am. You know my parents and how they can be with me being the only Weasley girl and the only one without a mate and not having any potential mates. Did you know that my mum's trying to set me up with her friend's son? Some bloke who's related to one of Bill's – my eldest brother – co-workers. It's absolutely humiliating, Professor." Ginny sighed again after her rant, refining her posture as she cleared her throat. "But we're not here to talk about my love life, I assume."  
  
"No... no, we're not. I regret that we couldn't have this conversation under lighter circumstances, but there is urgent business to attend to." Professor Orwell walked to his desk, extracting from the pile of papers a single manila folder. "I found this particular request sitting on my desk about a week ago. I'm almost positive it came from the Minister himself on, well, shall I say special request –"  
  
Ginny chuckled, imagining her own father trying to put a special request in for the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
"– But I'm sure you know what that means." He winked at her, and then proceeded to remove a slightly worn stack of papers from the folder.  
  
"The assignment is to be assigned to the Ministry's best Auror for the job – namely, you. The –"  
  
"Have you gone mad?" Ginny blurted out without realizing it, then cleared her throat once more. "I mean, there must be some mistake."  
  
"No, it says quite clearly that I was to expect you... and well, here you are." The professor sat down once more. "Ginny, this assignment's a bit... well, different than the ones you've gone on before."  
  
"Yes, I supposed I might actually succeed at this one?" She shook her head. "No, I think the Ministry's misunderstood. I specialize in Ancient History. I don't participate in fieldwork - you saw my test results, they were rubbish! On the other hand, if you've got the Prince of Wales claiming to be stalked by a reborn Egyptian wizard mummy, I'm there."  
  
"Which is precisely why we need you. Ginny, have you ever heard of the Draconic Code?"  
  
"Um, I believe I have. There's been writing in the old libraries in the Ministry that claim there's an ancient book that foretells all bloodlines of Salazar Slytherin. Something about how he wanted to make sure his bloodline would be pure. More of a book of genealogy than any prophecy, I'd say." Virginia frowned. "But that's a load of rubbish - who'd want to keep a record of what bloodlines one came from? Unless this has to do with...."  
  
"Precisely!" Professor Orwell clapped his hands together, his smile in brilliant contrast to her doubtful one.  
  
"So this is what's so classified about this floor now?" She asked.  
  
"Oh, pretty much. We wouldn't want Dark Wizards just popping in here and taking our research, now do we?" He said with a laugh.  
  
"Oh no... anything but the research!" Ginny said in a horrified manner, her eyes widening momentarily then stifling a giggle.  
  
"Honestly, Professor. I'm sure Death Eaters would rather be burning up Muggle villages than stealing a bunch of papers. I understand that it has to do with them... but why do they even want the Code? It's absolute rubbish, we don't even know if it exists."  
  
"No, we don't.... but we digress. It's up to you to find out. The Ministry has recognized the audacity of this mission, particularly in the sheer lack of knowledge of the Code. But we do have you... and, that is, your partner." The Professor's disposition became more apprehensive at the mention of Ginny's partner.  
  
"... You've got to be joking." Ginny put her tea down and stood up. "Professor... I honestly don't understand. You want to me go on an Auror mission – something I'm absolutely rubbish at – in order to find this Draconic Code – that might not even exist – with a partner – who I don't even know. I don't see—"  
  
"Au Contraire, Ginerva. But you do know me." A cool voice journeyed into her ear, stirring an evanescent memory from Ginny's childhood.  
  
The door to the study slowly creaked open, and in the doorway stood none other than Draco Malfoy.  
  
"... Is the world out to get me?" Ginny groaned, rubbing her eyes with her palms.  
  
"Now, I thought all these years had taught you some manners, Ginerva. Won't you introduce me?" Draco smirked. Ginny opened her eyes and looked at her former nemesis. His words hinted at the Slytherin pride that was innately prevalent during their Hogwarts years, but his appearance suggested otherwise. Dressed in plain khakis and a simple gray-buttoned shirt, Draco looked almost – dare she say – almost Muggle.  
  
"Good Morning Professor, my name's Dr. Draco Malfoy. The Ministry sent me." Draco said with a more professional tone, taking out a piece of paper from his pant pocket. "You are... Professor Orwell?"  
  
"That's correct. Ah, so you two know each other?" He asked.  
  
"Well, yes – I mean," Ginny stammered, shaking her head. "No, back then, Malfoy was – Merlin, man, what's happened to you? You used to the be epitome of a Dark and Lord-like supporter. And now you're one plug short of being Muggle?"  
  
With her sudden outburst of words, Draco's smirk faded from his face. "Well, Ginerva, things change."  
  
"Not this much, I don't believe it. How can-"  
  
"Now, Ginny, please mind your manners. This man was sent especially from a local Muggle University to help you on your mission. It wouldn't hurt you [to] try and be polite, now would it?" The Professor asked, distressed at the obvious conflict between the pair.  
  
"No, Professor. It's quite all right. I suppose I do owe an explanation for my... actions in the past years. But forgive me, I have another appointment I must be at shortly. We will meet again, yes?" Draco finished, before straightening himself out.  
  
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Professor Orwell. Ginny." He nodded to her, then proceeded out the door.  
  
Ginny's eyes, still wide open from the plethora of information, could only take another sip of her tea.  
  
"Well then." Professor Orwell said uncomfortably, closing the door behind Draco. "Ginny, I realize that this mission is a little... absurd in its details. But I cannot stress how important it is to locate these papers. It's important to all of us," He glanced at a photo of his family on his desk. "All of us, especially to your family, Ginny. We've all had to live through the war... I don't believe it's over just yet."  
  
Ginny sighed, thinking of what her family had to endure throughout the war against the Dark Lord. She placed her tea down on his desk and rose.  
  
"I'll do it, Professor Orwell. After all, it's about time I contributed something to the war effort." She gathered her things and stood up. "It was nice seeing you again, Professor."  
  
He smiled warmly. "Likewise, Ginny. Likewise."  
  
He opened the door for her and handed her the manila folder. "You'll have all the information you need in here. Anything else... well, I don't have anything else, but send an owl and we'll figure something out."  
  
Professor Orwell shook her free hand goodbye. "Best of luck, Ginerva."  
  
Ginny took one last look at the professor and the envelope in her hand, and then proceeded down the dimly lit hall. She could only pray that she knew what she was getting herself into.  
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
Upon reaching her building, she took out her keys and opened the lock. Her two-bedroom flat – purchased by her mother with hopes of her marrying and settling in – was comfortable enough to say the least, but the considerable size left her quite lonely at times.  
  
She placed her coat on a kitchen chair and advanced towards her stove to pour herself a bit of tea. Sitting down near an open window, she sat and drank, addressing mentally the severity of the situation with the Dark Lord – but most importantly, whatever her mission had to do with him. A pecking noise stirred her out of her meditations. Ginny turned her gaze to the window, where a small bird was perched on her windowsill.  
  
The small snowy owl hooted softly as Ginny moved in closer and plucked the bit of parchment off of his leg. She unraveled the small note with one hand, as she sipped her tea with the other.  
  
Ginny-  
  
I've forgotten to mention one tiny detail. You'll be meeting Dr.  
Malfoy formally tomorrow night at the annual Vicars and Tarts dinner  
event at the Zabini Estate to discuss your plans. Don't forget to  
dress accordingly!  
  
- Prof. H. Orwell  
  
"Oh bollocks."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
Well there it is, the Prologue to the Draconic Code. For those of you who don't know what a Vicars and Tarts party is... I urge you to look it up :D Don't worry about Draco being too nice... it'll be resolved later =) Until then, Talley ho! 


End file.
